Dallas Sierra Club Calendar

 Come join us for our annual hike on Super Bowl Weekend! We'll hike 10K (6 miles) on the Lake Ray Roberts Greenbelt Corridor. This is an easy trail running alongside the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. No reservations required, just show up. Well-behaved pets on a leash will be allowed. Bring water and a snack as we will be hiking all morning. Meet at 9:00 AM at the Hwy. 380 Trailhead Park. Admission to the park is $7.00 per person or free with a Texas State Parks Pass. There will be an optional lunch afterwards. The Park is on the north side of US Hwy 380 2.1 miles west of Hwy 377 or 2.8 miles east of Loop 288 in Denton. Hwy 380 can be reached from Central Expressway, Preston Road, or the Dallas North Tollway. Bring extra shoes in case the trail is muddy. The trip will be canceled if it is raining at the trailhead. Trip rated: Easy. Leader: Mark Adams Send Email 940-231-8482

Walk and talk while picking up trash and recyclables at the Sierra Club's adopted section of White Rock Lake Park. Meet at 8:15 AM this second Saturday of the month at the Love of the Lake office (How appropriate for the day!), northeast corner of Garland Road and Buckner Boulevard.  Look for the crowd drinking free juice and coffee.  Gloves, trash bags, etc. will be provided. Our area includes one of the wonderful prairie restoration areas, so there are always birds and wildflowers to enjoy.  Brunch afterwards.  Trip rated: Easy. Leader: Carol Nash Send Email 214-824-0244

Outings leaders, prospective leaders, and people interested in outings are welcome to this monthly gathering (typically on third Wednesdays at 6:30) to plan outings. Help us learn from our successes and mistakes.  Bring ideas for where to go and what to do.  Ask Mark to be placed on the email list for an agenda.  Organizer: Mark Stein Send Email 214-526-3733

It's fun and helpful to get out to the Cedar Ridge Preserve to help upgrade some of the beautiful walking trails just south of Dallas. The address is 7171 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75249. It's a great morning workout and the scenery is exceptional. No tools are required, (maybe gloves) just show up and be ready to lend a hand or two. We'll work from 9 AM to 12-ish and then walk around the preserve and admire the wildflowers and fauna! Bring some water for sure. Please see www.audubondallas.org/cedarridge.html for directions and info. See you then! If you wish to carpool, then let me know and we'll arrange a meeting spot. Come on out and stay green with us! Trip rated: Easy. Contact: Ginger Bradley Send Email 469-223-7902

Beat cabin fever with adventures in backpacking and day hiking in Big Bend National Park.  Car pool from Dallas, departing Feb. 28, or meet in Marathon or Panther Junction the next morning.  Backpack a circuit of moderate difficullty from the Chimneys to Red Ass, Tule and Burro Springs on the first two days, navigating cross-country for part of the loop.  After a cabin night in Terlingua, motor to the east side of the Park for a day hike and a soak in the hot springs on the Rio Grande and parts of three days of strenuous backpacking on the Marufo Vega Trails.  Finish with a short day hike such as Dog Canyon or Grapevine Hills before heading home on Friday.  This trip requires previous backpacking experience and leader consent.  Email for more hike details.   Trip rated: Strenuous. Leader: Mark Stein Send Email 214-526-3733

Walk and talk while picking up trash and recyclables at the Sierra Club's adopted section of White Rock Lake Park. Meet at 8:15 AM this second Saturday of the month at the Love of the Lake office, northeast corner of Garland Road and Buckner Boulevard.  Look for the crowd drinking free juice and coffee.  Gloves, trash bags, etc. will be provided. Our area includes one of the wonderful prairie restoration areas, so there are always birds and wildflowers to enjoy.  Brunch afterwards.  Trip rated: Easy. Leader: Carol Nash Send Email 214-824-0244

If you need carefully groomed trails for your backpacking adventures this hike is not for you.  If you would like to explore a scenic, seldom visited part of Arkansas and don’t mind stepping off the beaten path this might be just what you’re looking for!  You will be amazed at how different things look from heavily used trails just a few miles away.  We will hike in to Caney Creek Wilderness on the ridgetop Buckeye Mountain trail.  After lunch Saturday we will leave the Buckeye Mountain Trail for an off trail route down into Short Creek where we will camp Saturday night.  Sunday we will hike off trail up Short Creek (without a paddle) and loop back to our trailhead.  We will only cover about five miles each day but the off trail sections will make it seem like more.  Some of the hike up Short Creek follows traces of an old road but there is no trail.  Early in the year brush and brambles should be at a minimum.  Expect a steep climb out of Short Creek. Trip rated: Moderately Strenuous. Leader: Bill Greer Send Email 972-247-0446

Outings leaders, prospective leaders, and people interested in outings are welcome to this monthly gathering (typically on third Wednesdays at 6:30) to plan outings. Help us learn from our successes and mistakes.  Bring ideas for where to go and what to do.  Ask Mark to be placed on the email list for an agenda.  Organizer: Mark Stein Send Email 214-526-3733

Hike one of the most scenic Wilderness trails in Arkansas in the Caney Creek Wilderness of west central Arkansas. Saturday we’ll enjoy the views from the ridgetop Buckeye Mountain Trail. Sunday we’ll hike out along the creek bottoms of the Caney Creek Trail. With any luck the wildflowers will be starting to emerge. This trip is rated moderate and would be suitable for beginners in good shape. Both days cover about 4 1/2 miles. Saturday includes an 800 foot uphill section. We`ll camp Friday night near our cars, Saturday night near a nice little waterfall. Trip rated: Moderate. Leader: Mark Adams Send Email 940-231-8482

Join me in the beautiful Guadalupe Mountains National Park as we climb Guadalupe Peak, hike up to McKittrick Ridge and climb down through the beautiful McKittrick Canyon.  We will move forward to an evening motel in Carlsbad, New Mexico and a walk-in tour of the Carlsbad Caverns, including reservations to explore the Lower Cave the next day.  This trip is rated strenuous because the hike up to McKittrick Ridge is 11 1/2 miles uphill. We will have to carry two days of water as well.  Party is limited to ten hikers. We will car camp at Pine Springs two nights, camp in McKittrick Ridge one night and motel two nights. I like to explore and be pampered. Please call me to discuss the trip and answer your questions. We welcome beginners who are in good shape.

  Trip rated: Strenuous. Leader: Bill Beach Send Email 214-662-3224

We've reserved a group site for tent camping by the Colorado River.  This park is four hours from Dallas and the campsite is accessible by car. We'll organize day hikes to Spicewood Springs and Gorman Falls. There will be overnight backpacking options. Note that the trip dates are a week earlier than announced in October.  Details and sign-up information will appear online in February.   Coordinator: Liz Wheelan Send Email 214-368-2306

Do something different this Memorial Day weekend. Explore the west side of the Hill Country from a base at South Llano River State Park, near Junction, Texas, six hours from Dallas. Plan an early Saturday departure and Saturday camping in the park. Sunday's triple-feature includes the Caverns of Sonora, Fort McKavett State Historical Site and Devils Sinkhole State Natural Area (at twilight, to watch for a tornado of three million bats emerging from 320 feet underground). Monday morning is time reserved for the park, when you can tube on the South Llano River, hike some of the eighteen miles of trails, fish or sleep late before return to Dallas by 10 PM.  Trip details and registration information will be published online in March.   Bus trip leader: Annie Wilson Send Email 682-232-4980

Plan now for five days and four nights of backpacking into breathtaking country on or below the Continental Divide in the Weminuche or South San Juan Wilderness Areas. Allow a day or more on both ends of the outing for travel to and from the trailheads.  This will be a trip using private cars or car pools to reach trailheads north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado or Chama, New Mexico. There will be no fee to the Sierra Club for this trip.  Instead, participants will pay their own transportation and lodging expenses. The Club will facilitate exchange of car pool information, but transportation choices will be up to individual participants. Trek options will be described by April when registration opens. Recent backpacking experience and leader consent will be required.   Trip rated: Strenuous. Coordinator: Mark Stein Send Email 214-526-3733

Backpack in the Questa Ranger District of Carson National Forest or hike and backpack in the Wild Rivers Area of Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.  We’ve chartered a bus so you can enjoy these destinations this Labor Day weekend.  Trip options include hiking and camping beside the rapids of the Rio Grande, backpacking to the high meadows of Sawmill Park in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness, hiking to the summit of Wheeler Peak (New Mexico's highest) from a loop route following forks of the Red River, trekking from Taos Ski Valley to massive Gold Hill from a base camp at Bull-of-the-Woods Pasture and backpacking from BOTWP onto scenic Hondo Ridge to descend into the green Columbine Basin. This New Mexico trip will depart on a Friday night and return by sunup on Tuesday.   Contact: Steve Fleischman Send Email 972-689-7317

Mark your calendar now so you can join us for this relaxing weekend among the fall beauty of southeastern Oklahoma. Choice of rustic cabin (shelter with roof and walls) or tent camping. We'll offer several hike options ranging from a one mile nature trail for those just wanting to enjoy the view, to a 7 mile roller-coaster trail up and down and over the skyline ridges. The park also offers many family-friendly activities you can enjoy. Check back in early August for more details and reservation information. This event has sold out in the past so once reservations open, don't wait too long to sign up! Trip rated: Kid Friendly. Coordinator: Liz Wheelan Send Email

Circle these dates for an autumn excursion to scenic Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas, an area managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Backpack on trails parallel to a river fringed by high, sometimes dramatic, limestone bluffs. This park is more than scenery. The history of a hardscrabble valley is preserved through historic structures and cemeteries connected by trails.  Bus transportation allows us to explore linear segments along the river and its side hollows (no out-and-back routes) and the dry fall season allows hiking across the river via shallow fords.   This trip will depart near 9 p.m. on a Wednesday night and return at about the same time on Sunday night.   Bus trip leader: Bill Beach Send Email 214-662-3224